


A Romance Story Found in the Reference Section

by muse_in_absentia



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-19
Updated: 2015-02-19
Packaged: 2018-03-13 19:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3392912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muse_in_absentia/pseuds/muse_in_absentia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Non-magical AU where Remus inadvertently (and unknowingly) contributes to Sirius’ procrastination, and is also the solution.  Also known as the one where even <i>without</i> magic James manages to cause explosions of the glittery variety.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Romance Story Found in the Reference Section

**Author's Note:**

> Written for RS_Small_Gifts 2014 on LJ.
> 
> Unbeta'd. Sorry about that.

The backlight on Sirius' ancient Toshiba laptop flickered slightly, going black for a moment and plunging the small room into total darkness before glowing softly again. Too lazy to get up and turn on the room lights, he sighed and jiggled the power cord, rolling onto his stomach on the tiny dormitory bed. His midnight blue comforter bunched up behind his left shoulder and he shoved it forcefully before turning back to his laptop and the last minute Christmas shopping he was trying to get done.

The door to the small room creaked open and the lights flicked on. Sirius quickly closed out of the site he had been browsing as his roommate came back from his last class of the day.

"Browsing porn again?" James asked, dropping his bag onto his bed and pulling off his grey wool peacoat.

"Oi, I have never watched porn in here where you might catch me. It was traumatizing enough to walk in on you that one time."

James snorted and toed off his trainers, flopping back onto his yellow and green striped comforter with a grunt. "Thank god. I really don't need the specifics of how two blokes go at it."

Sirius flipped him two fingers.

"So what are you doing?"

"If you must know," Sirius grumbled, "I was trying to get some last minute Christmas shopping done."

"Oh, have you got any ideas for what I can get Lily Evans-soon-to-be-Potter?" James sat up and grinned, running his hands through his messy black hair and making it stand on end. "It needs to be perfect this year."

"A restraining order keeping you at least one hundred meters away at all times?" Sirius kicked his feet up in the air, dropping his head onto his pillow, fine black hair fanning around his face.

James sighed. "That's not romantic at all, mate."

"But she might actually appreciate it. Besides, I thought it was my job to leave everything till the last minute, not yours."

"Speaking of last minute, I don't suppose I could borrow your printer for that paper due to McGonagall tomorrow? I forgot to print it out when I was in the library earlier."

Sirius froze, legs mid kick in the air, one arm hanging off the bed the other halfway to his face. It took a couple of seconds for him to start moving again, hand finishing the path to scratch at his nose, legs tumbling down to the mattress. "What paper due to McGonagall?"

"The one she assigned last week during that discussion we managed to redirect from Twelfth Night to black holes."

"Was that the day that Lupin had on that blue jumper that makes him look entirely edible?" Sirius bit at the corner of his lip as he drew up a mental picture of Remus Lupin in Sirius’ favorite blue jumper. Over the course of the last three terms he had decided that no other bloke would do as he fell in love to the sound of slightly raspy but highly intelligent comments made in class. As far as he was concerned the fact that they had never actually spoken wasn’t a barrier at all. As smart as they both were they could talk about anything.

"Sirius!" James’ exasperated growl pulled Sirius out of his daydreams. "The bloke doesn't know you exist. You might want to give up fantasizing long enough to not fail."

“Oh please, you know as well as I do that the only reason either one of us willingly signed up for an entire class dedicated to Shakespeare is because we overheard that conversation between Lupin and Evans last term about how much they love the bloke.”

“I thought you signed up to keep me company while I woo the fair Lily. Signing up just because Lupin was taking the class sounds a bit like stalking, mate.”

Sirius stared at his friend for a full minute before shrugging and giving up hope that James would ever understand the irony in that statement. "This from the person Lily Evans-NEVER-to-be-Potter would like nothing more than to castrate with her bare hands," he grumbled while opening his laptop back up and digging out the assignment sheet. "This shouldn't be too bad, even if McGonagall is completely heartless for assigning us a full 10 page paper due the day before hols start. Doesn't she realize that most of us skive off and head home early? I don't suppose you still have any of the research books you used, or am I going to have to resort to the internet and making them up again?"

James didn't reply, sitting on his bed with a glazed look in his hazel eyes.

"James?" Sirius got no response. "And this is what I get for suggesting Evans' hands might ever end up near his bits," he muttered to himself, opening his bookmarks list for all the sites he used to fake research for papers.

The first two hours saw him type out nearly five pages while doing his best to ignore the strange noises that kept coming from James’ side of the room as his friend kept dashing in and out like a startled jackrabbit. He couldn’t complain, though, since James had been kind enough to bring him a slice of pizza from one of the many outings so he could keep working. 

Approximately halfway through the sixth page of a somewhat outlandish character analysis derived from the awkward happenings in A Midsummer Night’s Dream Sirius stalled. “James, I’m stuck. I’m running out of pages, do you think I should cover the fact that Titania clearly has a thing for animals or Puck’s blatant desire to direct his own porn?”

“Honestly, Sirius, I’m not sure which is worse, your constant need to make everything about sex, or the fact that, somehow, you always get good marks anyway,” James grumbled from where he was sitting on the floor, surrounded by bits of paper and clay, a small glass bowl held various paints, glue and what appeared to be a bottle of glitter. He had a pencil in his mouth and bits of string stuck to his dusky-blue tee-shirt.

“Everything _is_ about sex, and what the fuck are you doing, mate?”

“McGonagall does not agree with you, and making Lily a snow globe. I thought I would make it the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, but the people aren’t turning out so well.” He pointed at a blob of clay that Sirius assumed was meant to look like a person

“James, you do realize that they both die, right? Probably not the best way to show her how you feel. And you’re right, I’m sure McGonagall doesn’t agree with me. Which is why none of my papers are _actually_ about sex. It’s just funny to see the look on your face.” Sirius slid off the bed to crouch down next to James, picking up the small bottle of silver glitter and tossing it in the air a couple of times. “Oh, and I’m confiscating this. You are far too straight to be allowed to handle this much glitter.”

“It’s one of the greatest romances of all time, and it proves I’m paying attention. Give that back!” James made a grab for the bottle, but Sirius pulled it out of reach, sitting back down on his bed.

“Unless you’re going to offer to let her kill you in the end, I’m not sure she’ll appreciate the gesture. Not a chance.”

“But I need that!”

“No, you really _really_ don’t.”

The bed let out a groan that was a bit like a cry for help as James tackled Sirius. In the ensuing scuffle the bottle cracked. One final thump from James, across the face with a pillow, and Sirius dropped the bottle, the small crack erupting into a geyser of glitter, little silver flecks snowing down over the entire room.

Tinkling glass hitting the floor was the only sound as both boys watched the glitter fly everywhere. The majority of it ended up in a pile on the chocolate colored throw rug they had bought second hand so they didn’t have to wake up to cold floors. However, nothing escaped completely unscathed. Sirius’ bed suffered the least damage as he had dropped the bottle off the side, but there was still a little glitter dusting his pillow. The twin desks and the large bookshelf they shared both got caught in the cloud and not even James’ bed was spared.

“Well, that’s it,” Sirius huffed, unplugging his laptop. “Have fun cleaning this up, I’m off to finish this paper at The Bean.”

“You’re just leaving me here with this?” James crouched on Sirius’ bed, watching the pile of glitter on the floor as if it was going to rear up and bite him.

“Call Peter. He’ll be more than happy to help you clean up this mess and listen to you moan on and on about whatever kitschy arts and crafts project you’ve decided will win you Evans’ heart. I have a paper to finish.” Sirius slid carefully off the bed trying to avoid the largest pile of glitter and grabbed a jumper out of his closet to pull over his white tee-shirt.

“Is that the jumper mom gave you for Christmas last year?” James asked, still huddled, bouncing on the balls of his feet on the mattress. Sirius wondered if he was going to try and spring over to his own bed, but thought better of putting the idea into James’ head if he hadn’t thought of it yet.

He glanced down at what he had blindly grabbed and saw little cream snowflakes on deep emerald green. “Yup.” Boots were located behind the heap of laundry he was planning on packing up and taking home.

Sirius tried to grab his laptop, but James clamped down on his wrist. “You’re actually going to leave me with this?”

“It’s your glitter. Besides, Peter will help. I’ll even call him for you.” Sirius paused and looked around the room. “It looks like you killed a fairy in here.”

Hazel eyes narrowed behind thick glasses as James bit out, “Not yet, but I’m considering it.”

Sirius let out a bark of laughter. “Your mother would string you up by your toenails. She adores me.”

With an exasperated sigh James tossed his hands up, letting go of Sirius’ wrist in the process. “It’s a good thing someone does. Just call Peter for me, and if you’re going to The Bean to work at least bring me back a latte.”

Sirius flipped him two fingers and slouched out of the room.

In the end, Sirius didn’t need to call Peter. Halfway to The Bean he ran into him coming out of the library, his arms full of books and a pen in his teeth.

“Pete! Just who I was looking for.”

Peter spat the pen onto the top book where it rolled precariously close to the edge, but eventually balanced on the binding. “Really? Cause I just finished up my last paper before hols and I would kill for something to do that isn’t study.”

“Well, James would love some help with his latest project in the quest to earn the heart of the fair maiden Lily. Alas, I am unable to assist him in this endeavor as McGonagall could really do to visit the wizard since it seems whoever made her forgot to give her a heart.”

Peter laughed. “Forgot to write the paper on A Midsummer Night’s Dream that James was frantic over earlier, did you?”

Sirius felt his cheeks warm, which was a nice change from the chilly air. “Fortunately, I am an expert on fairies, so this should be simple enough.”

“I don’t think they’re that kind of fairy.”

“Oh please. Oberon and Puck were definitely shagging on the side, as my paper will prove. But if you would be so kind as to save James from himself, or at the very least, save my half of the room from James, I would be indebted. I’ll even bring you a mocha when I come back from The Bean.”

Juggling his books Peter snorted. “I take it he’s expecting me?”

“Probably won’t even have to knock.”

“Just don’t forget my mocha.”

Sirius waved a hand at him and finished the trudge to the campus coffee shop where he ordered himself a large coffee with an added shot of espresso and settled in at one of the only outlets left. He pulled his Toshiba out of his bag, untangled the cord and plugged it in. Nothing happened. “Bloody fuck,” he muttered, jiggling the cord. Nothing. He unplugged the entire thing and plugged it back in. The screen flickered to life, but the image looked a bit like it was melting. Typing as quickly as he could manage he emailed himself what he had managed to write of his paper, just barely hitting the send button before the screen went dark again.

A quick glance at his watch told him that it was 9:57. He turned to a cute brunette who looked like he probably played rugby and who didn’t look too involved in the book he was listlessly turning pages in. “Any idea how late the library stays open?”

The young man glanced up and shrugged. “11, I think.”

“Thanks!” Sirius sent a quick thank you to the patron saint of procrastination and grabbed up his things, jogging in the direction of the library.

He skittered to a stop in front of the library just as someone, oddly wearing the same jumper he was, turned the key in the lock.

“No! No, no, no, I thought the library was open till 11,” he blurted out, not really paying any attention to the person standing barely two feet in front of him.

“Usually it is. It closed early for the start of hols. There’s been a posting on the doors all month.” 

The slight rasp to the voice and the mildly amused cadence distracted Sirius from his personal crisis. “Ah, well, I’m generally far too clever to need to set foot in the library to get good marks,” he quipped, trying to keep his voice steady as he locked eyes with Remus Lupin who had one side of his mouth quirked up, turning Sirius’ insides to jelly. 

“And yet, here you are, outside our esteemed, and locked, doors.”

Sirius held out the laptop, which was tucked under his arm from his hasty dash. “Screen died mid paper,” he mumbled, ducking his head.

He heard a click and a quiet chuckle. “Well, come on, then.”

When Sirius looked up Remus was holding the doors to the library open, looking at him expectantly. “You don’t have to let me in after hours. It’s my own fault. Besides, I could probably talk Gideon Prewett into letting me use his computer, although it might be worth failing to avoid having him try and grab my arse yet again.”

Remus laughed. “Wouldn’t want that, although I suspect you like the attention.”

Sirius preened internally at getting Remus to laugh. “Gideon’s nice enough, but he’s just not my type.” He bit down on his lip, hard, in an attempt not to finish that statement with “but you are”.

As entranced as he was with the things Remus’ slightly crooked smile was doing to his insides Sirius blurted out, “I didn’t realize you worked at the library,” before he had even realized he had opened his mouth.

Flushing slightly, Remus ducked his head. “They set aside jobs for students who need financial assistance, and it certainly beat working in the cafeteria.”

“Hey, there’s no shame in working, and I can imagine it would, yes.”

With a slightly relieved look Remus waved him inside, closing the doors behind them. “And lucky for you, too. Can’t have you failing because of a broken computer; that sounds a bit like the dog ate my homework. Besides, McGonagall will definitely flay you alive if that paper is late.”

“How did you know that was the paper I need to finish? I could have finished that days ago and been working on something else entirely. Besides, I would never use as plebian an excuse as the dog ate my homework. James is far more likely to have eaten it than any fictitious dog.”

“Because James was in here in a panic over it earlier today, and I can’t imagine you having finished it without reminding him to write his. And yes, you are probably right. Somehow, I can imagine James eating your homework just to provide you with a credible excuse.”

Sirius was about to make a snappy retort when he suddenly realized that if Remus knew who James was, and that they were friends, that meant Remus knew who he was. Knew who he was in more than just a the-annoying-bloke-who-sits-behind-him capacity. His pulse doubled at that thought.

Instead, Sirius settled himself at one of the computer terminals and logged into his email, retrieving what he had written of his paper so far. Remus pulled out a chair next to him and opened a well battered paperback.

Sirius’ heartbeat kept skipping out of rhythm at the close proximity, but after a while of concentrating on breathing he managed to regain his focus. The only sound was the click of the keyboard, and the soft scratch of turning pages.

With two pages to go Sirius blinked a couple of times and stretched. Glancing to his left he noticed Remus staring at him. He grinned at the flush that colored Remus’ pale cheeks. “What? Have I don’t something highly illegal according to library rules?”

“Aside from the no food or drink rule that you are blatantly ignoring with that coffee, and that I am blatantly letting you ignore because it’s cruelty to force someone to finish a paper last minute without any caffeine, not really.” Remus ducked his head back to his book. “I’m more astounded that you can focus on one assignment for so long,” he mumbled, the pink that had spread to his ears becoming decidedly more pronounced.

Sirius felt his own face warm under the scrutiny, but he gave his cheekiest grin. “It’s because I hate working on them. There are much better uses for my time.”

“Well, that explains why you are still working on a paper due tomorrow, but not your ability to concentrate,” Remus quipped, not looking back up from his book and therefore rendering Sirius’ attempts at flirting useless.

“The more I concentrate the faster I get it over with and can get back to much more enjoyable pursuits.”

“And yet you can’t be bothered to write a paper more than a day ahead of time,” Remus chuckled, still staring determinedly at his book.

“Actually,” Sirius paused, blinking at the grimy keyboard of the public computer, “that was more procrastination by default. I forgot we even _had_ the sodding paper,” he grumbled.

“How can you forg- you know what, never mind, I’m not sure I want to know.” Remus shook his head, finally looking up from his book, placing a very careful bookmark and setting the well-worn paperback down gently.

Sirius swallowed hard. _No, you really don’t,_ he thought bitterly. _And also, can I please peel that jumper off of you? It’s not doing good things to my mental state that we match and I desperately want to see you out of it._

“So, what’s the focus of your paper, anyway?” The soft scratch of Remus’ voice pulled Sirius out of his sudden fantasy of the pair of matching jumpers thrown haphazardly on his floor.

One quick glance at the earnest look on Remus’ face and Sirius immediately discarded all the sex jokes he used on James and Peter. “I’ve, umm, actually I’ve used it as a thinly veiled commentary on social inequalities.”

Remus blinked a couple of times and Sirius lost his train of thought at how adorable he found it. “Wait, how does that work?”

“The short of it is that, although I can assume Shakespeare didn’t do it on purpose, it can totally be read as a commentary on class lines, and how all it takes is a little sand in the eyes for all those lines to disappear and love to abound. I mean, Queen, commoner, ass, fairy or maiden, they all fell in love regardless of any of that with very little help from Puck at all. Maybe all it takes is a little bit of magical sand in our eyes to blur our vision enough for none of that to matter, which brings up the question of why it ever mattered in the first place if it makes no difference at all.” Sirius paused, then added, “I thought about extrapolating it to cover things like gender and sexual orientation, but I didn’t want to seem like I had an agenda, so I ended up leaving it generic.”

The way Remus was staring, with his mouth actually hanging open slightly, made Sirius’ face warm again. _Way to put your foot in your mouth, Sirius,_ he growled inside his own head. _Now he thinks you’re a total swot and not even a little bit cool at all and…_

“And here I thought you were sexy _before_ I found out you were intelligent, too.”

Sirius barely heard the words that were most likely meant to be private, but they stopped his mental panic attack mid thought. “Wait, you think I’m sexy?”

Remus grimaced, dropping his head into his hands. “ _That’s_ the part he focuses on. Yes, I think you’re sexy. Turns out that, while I would never be so crass as to try and grab your arse, you weren’t really any safer locked in an empty library with me than you were borrowing a computer from Prewett. And now that I’ve totally bollocksed up finally getting to talk to you maybe you’ll let me slink out of here to die of humiliation in private.”

“What? No! No dying, in public or in private.” Sirius took a deep breath, pulse in his throat, and just barely let his hand rest on the other boy’s arm. “I was thinking something more along the lines of defiling the stacks by snogging in every available dark corner until someone realizes we’re in here after hours and kicks us out.”

Warm brown eyes locked with his as Remus’ head snapped up. He seemed to be trying to figure out if Sirius was taking the piss, but must have liked what he saw because a beautiful smile spread across his face, pulling a matching one out of Sirius.

Digging in his pocket Remus pulled out something small and silver. “Might take them a while to figure that out seeing as I have the key.”

Sirius let out a bark of laughter that was half amusement and half nerves. “Is that a yes?”

“On one condition.” Remus cocked one eyebrow up at him.

“What might that be?”

“You tell me why your hair is full of glitter.”

Sirius combed his fingers through his hair causing glitter to snow down on the floor. With a very put upon sigh he grimaced. “You’ll have to ask James about that one, I have no idea.”

“You plan on letting me meet James? You’re going to tell him about this?” Remus’ voice came out much smaller than Sirius had ever heard it, and he hated that Remus sounded so uncertain.

“If you were hoping for a one off tell me now and we won’t do this at all, because I had planned on telling _everyone_ , and possibly repeating it in front of them – frequently – if they need proof.”

That was apparently the right thing to say, because there were suddenly fingers in his hair and a warm body pressed against him. As he wrapped his arms around Remus’ slender waste he felt a mouth find his and he thought, _But not until tomorrow._


End file.
